I went to the movies this weekend and saw a preview for the new Karate Kid movie staring, (my dad is a HUGE star) Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The movie looks good, but surely will not live up to the standard set forth by Ralph Macchio (who will be referred to in this article as "the kid") and Pat Morita... which prompted the question: What are the top 5 Ralph Macchio Movies?First I had to think if Ralph Macchio has even been in 5 movies... and he has (thank goodness), so without further ado... Ralph Macchio's top 5 movies and real vs. approximate age of character played (just for the fun of it, cause Ralph is pushing 50, but has looked 15 years younger his whole life)
5. Beer League - The Kid as Maz, 45 playing early 30's - An Artie Lang film (which pretty much tells you, right there, how crappy it is) about a out-of-work loser who lives with his mother whose only escape in life is the softball league he belongs to. The loser is Artie, and The Kid is his successful best friend. The story pretty much focuses on Artie's character, his drinking, and his inability to hold on to the woman he loves until he is nearly kicked out of softball for fighting and his best friend, Maz, turns his back on his buddy after years of dealing with his loser friend. - 1/2 Star (out of 5 stars)
4. My Cousin Vinny - The Kid as Billy Gambini, 31 playing 18 - I would have ranked this higher on the list, but the kid really only played a supporting character in the film which was made great by Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. The Kid plays a kid on his way to visit a college when he and a buddy get pulled over and charged with murder they didn't commit. The Kid lawyer's up with... his cousin Vinny. The Kid plays a great role, that coulda been played by any Italian-American looking kid, but he sells the part well. 4 Stars
3. Crossroads - The Kid as Eugene Martone, 25 playing 17ish - The Kid leaves Julliard to travel with Willie Brown (played by Joe Seneca) across Mississippi in search of, great blues man, Robert Johnson's missing 31st song. On the trip Willie takes The Kid under his wing and teaches him about the Blues. On the road The Kid learns that there really isn't a 31st song and Willie was just using him to get back to the Crossroads so he can get his soul back from the Devil upon his death. Willie had sold his soul, just like Johnson, for a life of fame and fortune and he didn't get his side of the deal. In the end The Kid has to have a guitar dual against the Devils guitar player (play by Steve Vai) to get Willie's soul back and save his own... a classic scene to say the least. The movie brought us a great soundtrack and a great line... "Blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad." The Kid received accolades for his acting in the movie from several movie reviewers of the time, most notably, Roger Ebert. 4 Stars
2. The Outsiders - The Kid as Johnny Cade, 22 playing 16 - What a great movie! Set in 1965 Tulsa Oklahoma this movie tells the story of a gang of hoods from the "other side of the tracks." The Kid and his Greaser buddy "Ponyboy" Curtis (C. Thomas Howe) get into a fight with some Socs' (kids from the right side of the tracks) and accidentally kill one them. They run off and hide with the help of fellow Greaser,Dallas (Matt Dillon), from the law. They eventually decide to turn themselves in and claim self protection but on the way back to town they see a building on fire with a bunch of kids in it and The Kid and Ponyboy run in to save them. Dallas has to run in to save The Kid and both get burned. The Kid ends up dying in the hospital, but not before muttering "stay golden Ponyboy, " All this sends Dallas over the edge and at the rumble between the Greasers and the Socs Dallas ends up running from the cops and getting gunned down. The Kid plays a great role but is flanked by a slew of other Brat Packers including; Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Lief Garrett, Tom Cruise, and Diane Lane. 4 1/2 Stars
1. The Karate Kid - The Kid as Daniel LaRusso, 23 playing 16 - The Kid befriends an old man after moving from New Jersey to Reseda, CA. The old man Mr. Miyagi, turns out is a Karate expert and saves Danielson's neck from the school bullies lead by Johnny Lawrence, the head student at Cobra Kai dojo (played most excellently by William Zabka, who would play the same roll in about 20 other films). In order to earn the bullies respect The Kid convinces Mr. Miyagi to teach him the art of Karate. In the process Mr. Miyagi becomes a sort of father figure to The Kid and teaches him to "find balance" in his life. Finally at the All Valley Karate Tournament The Kid beats a slew of Cobra Kai bullies to end up facing Johnny in the final, but not before one of them sweeps The Kids knee putting his ability to fight the final round in question. The Kid convinces Mr. Miyagi to fix his knee by slapping his hands together, rubbing them and then twisting The Kids knee back into place so he can find balance and in the final fight scene use the Crane method to defeat Johnny and earns his respect. 5 Stars
Definitely The Kids Shining moment. The Kid would go on to star in two other Karate Kid movies, but none matched the quality of the first (although they were probably both better than Beer League, but I didn't want to list all three in The Kid's best movies).
By comparison, if you listed Pat Morita's top 5 you'd have to list all 4 Karate Kid movies... ok here you go
5. Honeymoon in Vegas
4. The Karate Kid III
3. The Next Karate Kid
2. The Karate Kid II
1. The Karate Kid
Hopefully little Will Smith and Mr. Chan won't let us down!
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